The Hispanic radio audience is growing across the U.S., increasing by more than half a million listeners over the past year based on Nielsen’s March 2014 RADAR report. As a result, Hispanics have the highest propensity to listen to the radio of any ethnic group. According to the latest Nielsen Audio Today report, 94.2 percent of all Hispanics (aged 12+) listen to the radio during the week.

So where is this listening growth coming from? Here’s a hint: it’s NOT occurring in the 10 AM-3 PM daypart, which has the highest ratings among Hispanics.

The most significant growth, speaking strictly about audience size, among Hispanic listeners over the past year has occurred during the morning drive daypart (6 AM-10 AM). The morning radio listening audience among Hispanics is growing at a much faster pace than any other time during the day, to the tune of 448,000 new listeners in the March 2014 RADAR report.

National Weekly Cume Audience (Millions)

Hispanic 12+

March 2013 RADAR

March 2014 RADAR

Difference (%)

Difference (Listeners)

Mon-Sun Mid-Mid

39,586,000

40,160,000

1.50%

574,000

AM drive (6 AM-10 AM)

28,939,000

29,387,000

1.50%

448,000

Mid day (10 AM-3 PM)

31,333,000

31,511,000

0.60%

178,000

PM drive (3 PM-7 PM)

32,686,000

33,000,000

1.00%

314,000

Evenings (7 PM-Mid)

24,281,000

24,095,000

-0.80%

-186,000

Weekends (Mid-Mid)

33,481,000

33,612,000

0.40%

131,000

Source: Nielsen

While the afternoon drive daypart has the largest Hispanic audience during the work week, and mid-day is the top-rated daypart (combining both total audience and time spent listening), the morning drive daypart is outperforming the rest of the week when it comes to adding new Hispanic radio listeners to the dial.

About Nielsen RADAR

Nielsen’s RADAR (Radio’s All Dimension Audience Research) service measures U.S. radio listening and is the standard currency for national network radio ratings for 46 individual radio networks in America.